Posted on 08/29/2019
Anthony J. LaSala, Sr., ESQ. (08/23/2019)
Anthony J. LaSala, Sr., age 82, and a more than fifty-year resident of Wayne, passed peacefully at his home, surrounded by his loving family, on Friday, August 23, 2019. Tony was born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1936 to Frank and Anna LaSala. He was raised in Paterson on E.18th Street and later moved to E.24th Street. As a young boy, he learned a strong work ethic from his grandfather who ran a lemon ice stand in the Riverside section of Paterson. His parents and extended family all worked in the dye houses and as seamstresses in the Paterson textile industry. He graduated Eastside High School in Paterson where he played baseball and handball. Tony spent one semester at the University of Notre Dame before his appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Tony graduated the Naval Academy in 1959 and served honorably in the United States Navy as a guided missile officer for the cruiser, U.S.S. Boston, and the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, later serving in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. After trying out for Navy's baseball team, Navy's long-time squash coach, CDR Potter was standing by the exit of the ballpark and said to Tony, "Son why don't you come out for the squash team as you have the moves that should help." Tony went on to become a three time letter winner on the Navy Squash Team, winning the National Championship in 1957 and 1959. Tony was the captain of the 1959 undefeated National Championship team. He resigned from active duty in 1963 with the rank of Lieutenant. After his naval service, Tony graduated New York University Law School in 1965, practicing law for over 50 years. After law school he worked for the Honorable Burrell I. Humphries in Paterson and not long after he decided to hang his own shingle in Wayne and never looked back. He would originally take in any kind of legal work that walked through his door and was quickly known as a true problem solver. He became involved in real estate and owned, managed and developed numerous commercial shopping centers, office buildings, residential homes and subdivisions. Anthony was always passionate about his roots in Paterson, and helped found and served as the President, Chairman and General Counsel of Paterson Habitat for Humanity, Inc. Throughout his over fifty year career in law and real estate he lived by words of the poem "Invictus" and the credo expressed in the "Message to Garcia" essay written by Elbert Hubbard in 1899 which extolls the value of individual initiative and conscientiousness relating to one's work. Message to Garcia was required reading for all midshipmen at the Naval Academy. Tony was an athlete at heart and after his collegiate career played racquetball before getting a group of racquetball players to start a squash league at the YM-YWHA in Wayne where he played for many years. On two different occasions, both when he was over forty years old, he was sent to the Olympic Training Center in Boulder, Colorado because he was simply unbeatable in squash. Tony always believed that his squash expertise was rooted in his love of mathematics as he could see and work the angles as if there were dotted lines around the squash court. Tony also loved to ski, play tennis and was an avid golfer and member of the North Jersey Country Club in Wayne. Tony developed his love of golf when he and his brother Frank got jobs in their teens caddying at the Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey. Those who knew him would say he was a perfectionist, intense, witty, and impatient with extremely high moral and ethical standards. He had a strong work ethic and expected everyone to work just as hard as he did. Tony was an accomplished pianist and always challenged his mind with crossword puzzles and solving mathematical problems as a form of relaxation. His work ethic is something he tirelessly tried to impart on those around him. Tony was the loving husband of 32 years to Marion LaSala; loving father of the late Anthony LaSala, Jr. (d.2016) and his wife Jill, Frank LaSala of Franklin Lakes, and Maria Profita and her husband Mario of Mountainside; step-father of Lorna Franck of Wayne, Gary Macleod and his wife Jennifer of Bradenton, FL, and David Macleod of Gilford, CT; he was the cherished grandfather of Alexandra, Shayna, Sophia, and Aranka LaSala, Vincent Profita, Bryce Franck, Ian, Lucas and Sophie Macleod; loved brother of Jeanne M. Farkas and her husband William of Wayne, and the late Frank A. LaSala (d.1987) and his wife Shiela. Friends may visit with the family from 4-8 PM on Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 9:00 AM from the funeral home then to Most Blessed Sacrament Church, 787 Franklin Lakes Road, Franklin Lakes where at 10:00 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered.
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